Revisions to the DSP

Attachment: Designated Suppliers Program – Revised

Attachment: Summary of Modifications to the DSP 9-29-06

The Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) Working Group has been meeting since March of this year. As you know, the Working Group is comprised of representatives of universities that have publicly articulated support for the DSP and expressed a commitment to work together to move the program forward. The Working Group also includes student representatives from United Students Against Sweatshops and is staffed by the Worker Rights Consortium.

A central goal of the Working Group has been to identify key stakeholder concerns about the DSP and to develop ways to address these concerns in order to enhance the effectiveness of the program. Our efforts have included six face-to-face meetings, including a special day-long forum with more than forty licensees at Georgetown University, as well as several conference calls and numerous other discussions. Licensees and other key stakeholders have been an important part of the conversation.

The Working Group is pleased to announce that we have made very significant progress and that a new version of the DSP is ready for consideration by institutions of higher education. The revised program includes major modifications that speak directly to the concerns that universities, both inside and outside of the Working Group, have expressed about the program.

The changes are outlined in the two attached documents. The first document, titled “Summary of Modifications to the Designated Suppliers Program,” describes each policy change from the original DSP proposal (and identifies the stakeholders’ concerns that each change is designed to address). The second document, titled “Designated Suppliers Program-Revised,” is a re-statement of the DSP, reflecting these modifications.

While there is still work ahead of us, we believe that we now have, in this modified DSP, a program that will advance our common goal: ensuring that apparel bearing our trademarks is produced under humane working conditions. We invite other universities with an interest in the DSP to review the changes we have made and consider supporting this revised program and joining the Working Group. For further information on this document and the work of the DSP Working Group, please contact Jim Wilkerson of Duke University, Chair of the Working Group, at [email protected].

Members of the DSP Working GroupJulia FilipponeUniversity at AlbanyMark CollinsBrandeis UniversityGlen FichmanUniversity of California SystemPaul Tabolt and William WeiUniversity of Colorado at BoulderHoney Sue FishmanColumbia UniversityJulie Bell-ElkinsUniversity of ConnecticutMike PowersCornell UniversityJim WilkersonDuke UniversityDoug ShawGeorgetown UniversityIrene CornishHamilton CollegeJenny McDaniel and Dick McKaigIndiana UniversityLon MoellerUniversity of IowaLee Sharkey and Mary Ellen MartinUniversity of Maine – FarmingtonMel Tenen and Alan FishUniversity of MiamiJim BriggsSanta Clara UniversityCarol Schnitzer and Christine KaczmarekSkidmore CollegeKarl Kowitz and Tom RiddellSmith CollegePeter WebberSyracuse UniversityLaMarr Billups and Dawn CrimUniversity of Wisconsin – MadisonTim Hillman and Sara Wallace-KeeshenUnited Students Against Sweatshops